Hollow tile block and floor construction



April 17, 1934. F. A. HOLBY HOLLOW TILE BLOCK AND FLOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed July 30, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet l April 17, 1934. F. A. HOLBY HOLLOW TILE BLOCK AND FLOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed July 50, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Wap/ 175. 1570/65@ JMN @Mov/Mango F. A. HOLBY April 17, 1934.

HOLLOW TILE BLOCK AND FLOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed July 50, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented pr. 17, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HOLLOW TILE BLOCK AND FLOOR CONSTRUCTON Application `luly 30, 1932, Serial No. 626,979

9 Claims.

The present invention relates to hollow tile blocks and, more particularly, to a hollow tile -block which is completely closed and which is particularly adapted for use in twoeway floor .5 construction wherein spaced hollow tile elements are set in concrete, the concrete being strengthened by means of the usual reinforcing bars. The invention also includes a novel floor construction.

'+0 Hollow tile blocks o1" the ordinary open ended type are impractical for use in floor construction, due to the fact that the concrete which must be poured about the tiles runs into the open ends of the blocks. This increases the dead weight load 1,5 of the licor and also increases the amount of concrete beyond that estimated as required for the oor. Since the blocks must be surrounded at all four sides by the concrete, the open ended blocks can not be closed by placing adjacent ,v blocks in abutting relation. In order to enable hollow tile to be used in such construction, various methods have been followed in an effort to close the tile against the concrete. One method of surmounting this difficulty has been to construct substantially U-shaped tile sections having relatively high flanges at two opposite ends thereof and, on the construction project, to arrange two such sections face to face and with their end flanges at right angles with respect to each other so that a two-piece hollow tile block will be provided. To make such an arrangement effective, it is necessary that the two sections shall accurately interlt, otherwise the concrete -will flow into the block. However, the end flanges of the individual tile sections readily become damaged during transportation and are rendered either entirely unusable or are so chipped or damaged that they cannot be fitted together to form a completely closed block, Also, imperfections which occur during the manufacture of the tile sections tend to prevent their proper engaging relation with each other. These imperfections occurring during the manufacture of the tile are principally due to the fact that the extended, unsupported iianges of the U-shaped sections may become distorted when in a relatively soft state, prior to drying and baking. A very slight distortion of the individual sections will prevent their being properly fitted together and concrete may enter between the sections at some point. In some types of two-way floor construction, the upper and lower surfaces of the tiles are intended to lie flush with the surfaces of the floor and ceiling, respectively, and since the two sections of tile (Cl. 'l2-66) cannot always be accurately tted together so that their upper and lower surfaces are parallel, they cannot be satisfactorily used in this type of construction.

Another arrangement for providing a closed` block of the type desired is by forming a tile section which is open on one side and, on the construction job, to close this side by placing a loose slab thereon. This arrangement also fails to accomplish the desired purpose for the reasons stated above with regard to the use of pairs of separate U-shaped sections.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a hollow tile block of entirely closed form which will obviate all possibility of concrete '70 flowing into the interior of the tile.

Another object of the invention is to provide a closed hollow tile block which is braced by internal webs to form a strong, integral block.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hollow tile block the entire area of which will be interlocked with the body of the concrete.

Still another important object of the invention is to provide a hollow tile block in which the opposite walls will be perfectly parallelV and V which will have right-angled edges.

The blocks of well known types which are formed on the construction job from two individual sections are usually assembled in such a manner that the assembled block does not have right angled edges. For example, in the type of block which is formed from two U-shaped sections, the anges of these U-shaped sections are not sufficiently long to permit their outer edges to lie ush with the outer surface of the comple- V mentary sections. This results in the provision of shoulders or reentrant portions about the edges of the block. These shoulders and reentrant edges are a distinct disadvantage in licor construction, since concrete may not naturally flow into the reentrant portions provided at the undersurface of the block in the floor and must be forced into these portions by the labor employed on the job. The concrete which occupies the re-entrant portions is also in a relatively thin layer and is not adequately locked to the block, because no supporting grooves or scorings are provided in the faces of the re-entrant portions. This is very apt to cause cracks to appear in the concrete and if the lower surface of the flooring is plastered, such cracks may appear in i. the plaster.

Broadly considered, the present invention comprises a closed hollow tile block formed from two complementary sections whichrare united under pressure prior to drying and baking. The two sections are of such form that, when assembled, they will form a completely closed block which is strongly internally reinforced and which is of integral construction.

In the drawings, wherein like numbers refer to like parts throughout the several views,

Figure 1 is a plan View showing a floor constructed with my hollow tile blocks;

Figure 2 is a. vertical cross sectional View through a flooring generally similar to that of Figure 1 but with concrete laid over the upper surfaces of the blocks and with a finishing coat of plaster or the like applied to the lower surface of the flooring;

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the manner of assembling the tile sections used in my tile block;

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing another step in the assembly of the tile sections;

Figure 5 is a perspective View of the completed tile block;

f Figure 6 is a vertical cross sectional view through the incompleted block shown in Figure 4;

Figure 7 is a vertical cross sectional view on the line 7-7 of Figure 8;

Figure 8 is a horizontal cross sectional view on the line 8-8 of Figure 7, and

Figure 9 is a vertical cross sectional View showing a modified form of floor construction in which the tile block may be used.

Referring to Figure 1 of the drawings, the numeral 10 designates a floor which is supported upon spaced concrete posts 11 and concrete beams 12. Groups of suitably spaced hollow tile blocks 13 of my construction are included in the floor 10 between the beams 12, each group comprising a plurality of the blocks 13. Longitudinal and transverse reinforcing bars 14 and 15 respectively are provided in the floor between the blocks 13. In the form of the invention illustrated in this figure, the upper surfaces 16 of the tile blocks are flush with the upper surface of the concrete of the floor and the lower surfaces 0f the blocks are flush with the lower surface of the floor, which latter forms the ceiling for the area beneath the floor l0. In Figure 2, the concrete is shown poured over the upper surfaces 16 of the blocks 13 and a finishing coat 17 of any suitable material is shown on the undersurface of the floor 10. It will be understood that the upper surface of the floor 10 of either form may be finished in any desired manner.

The hollow tile blocks 13 are formed of two exactly similar hollow tile sections 18. As is best shown in Figure 3, each section 18 preferably comprises an outer web 19 and an inner web 20 with flanges 21 joining two opposite edges of these webs. The flanges 2l include extended portions 22 which project past the inner web 2O a distance corresponding to the distance between the outer surface 23 of the outer web 19 and the inner surface 24 of the inner web 20. .The webs 19 and 20 are preferably joined by spaced ribs 25 which extend parallel with the flanges 21. In order to assemble two sections 18 into a block 13, they are positioned with respect to each other in the manner shown in Figure 3, that is, with the inner surfaces 24 of the inner webs 20 opposite each other and with the flanges 21 of the respective sections arranged at right angles to each other. The two sections are then moved together so that the inner surfaces 24 of the inner webs 20 are in contact with each other. This operation is performed prior to the drying and baking of the tile sections and since, in the extrusion of the sections, the extended portions 22 of the flanges 21 are bent slightly outwardly with respect to each other, as shown in Figure 3, the two sections may readily be assembled as shown in Figure 4. After the assembling operation, the blocks in the condition shown in Figure 4 are conveyed to a press structure wherein equal pressure is exerted against each of the outer surfaces of the block, forming them into the shape illustrated in Figure 5. The blocks are then baked in the usual manner to render them vitreous.

Due to the fact that the extended portions 22 of the flanges 21 of each of the sections 18 are of a length corresponding to the distance between the outer surface of the outer Webs 19 and the inner surface 24 of the inner webs 20, the ends 26 of each of the extended flanges 22 will, when the sections are assembled, lie flush with the outer surface 23 of the outer web 19 of the opposed or complementary tile section.

During the extrustion process, the outer surfaces 23 of the outer webs of the tile sections 18 and the outer surfaces of the flanges 21, including the extended portions 21, are scored in the usual manner to form grooves 27, preferably of key-hole shape. This results in the provision of scorings 27 on all of the outer surfaces of the completed block, as shown in Figure 5. Since the scorings 27 extend longitudinally of the tile sections, and since these are arranged at right angles with respect to each other in the assembled block, the scorings of the respective outer webs 19 forming the upper and lower surfaces of the blocks will be at right angles with respect to each other. The scorings on the flanges 22 will extend circumferentially about the block. A block having a maximum degree of surface adapted for interlocking with concrete is thus provided. During the treatment of the assembled tile sections by pressure, the ends 28 of the ribs 25 and the ends of the inner webs 20 are forced into and joined with the inner surfaces of the extended flanges 22 of the complementary tile section as illustrated in Figures 7 and 8. The side edges of the entire length of the flanges 2l are likewise joined at 29 as shown in Figure 8. Figure 7 illustrates the manner in which the extreme outer portions of the flanges 2l are joined to the edges of the outer web 19 of the complementary tile section. This figure also shows the inner webs 20 pressed integrally together and integrally joined to the extended portions 22 of the side flanges. During the baking operation these points of joinder are securely baked or welded together so that a unitary hollow tile block of very strong construction is provided.

Figure 9 shows a modified form of floor construction wherein strips 30 are provided on the underside of the floor 10 between blocks 13 which may be smooth and unscored on their lower surfaces 32. The strips 30 have scorings 31, preferably of a key-hole shape, in their upper surfaces so that they will be properly supported by the concrete of the flooring and are smooth on their undersides 33 to correspond to the smooth lower surface 32 of the blocks 13. The undersides of the strips 30 lie flush with the undersides of the block 13 and the whole forms a nished ceiling. In some instances, the unscored surface 32 of the block may be presented upwardly to form a smooth floor surface on the floor 10' and, if desired, the outer surfaces of both of the outer webs of the completed block may be left unscored to provide smooth floor and ceiling surfaces.

It is obvious, of course, that the strips 30 may also be scored on their undersurfaces to correspond with the scored surfaces of the block disclosed, for instance, in 1Eigure 5.

It is understood that there are Various changes in and modifications of the invention which are included within the scope of the appended claims.

I clairn:-

l. A closed hollow tile block comprising outer webs, side walls joining the edges of said webs, a central web extending parallel with said outer webs and between said side walls, ribs extending from either side of said central web to said outer webs, the ribs on either side of said central web being arranged at right angles with respect to each other.

2. An integral hollow tile block formed of two sections, each section including a web portion with extended flanges at two opposite edges of the web and spaced reinforcing ribs projecting from the web between and parallel to said flanges, the sections being arranged face to face at right angles with respect to each other so that the extended flanges of one section will close the space between the flanges and ribs of the other section.

3. A closed hollow tile block formed of two similar tile sections, each of said sections cornprising an outer web, an inner web, anges joining two opposite edges of said webs and extending past said inner web, said sections being assembled to position their respective inner webs face to face and with their respective flanges at right angles to entirelf,7 close the space between the webs of the complementary section.

4. A closed hollow tile block formed of two similar tile sections comprising outer and inner webs, side walls joining two opposite edges of said webs, said side walls including extended flange portions, ribs between said inner and outer webs and extending parallel with said side walls, said sections being assembled with their inner webs face to face and with their respective extended ange portions at right angles to close the space between the inner and outer webs of the complementary section.

5. A closed hollow tile block formed of two similar tile sections, each section comprising inner and outer webs, side walls joining two opposite edges of said webs, flanges extending from said side walls past said inner webs and ribs between said inner and outer webs extending parallel with said side Walls, said sections being adapted to be united under pressure with their inner webs arranged face to face and with the side walls and extended flanges of one section arranged at right angles with respect to the side walls and extended flanges of the other section whereby the ends of the ribs of one section being forced into the inner surfaces of the extended flanges of the other section.

5. An integral closed hollow tile block formed of two sections, each section including a web portion with extended flanges at two opposite edges of the web and a reinforcing rib of less height than said flanges projecting from the web between and parallel to said flanges, the sections being arranged face to face at right angles with respect to each other so that the ends of the extended ilanges of one section will lie flush with the outer surface of the web portion of the other section and close the ends of the other section.

'.7. An integral closed hollow tile block formed of two similar tile sections comprising outer and inner webs, side walls joining two opposite edges of said webs, said side walls including extended flange portions, a rib between said inner and outer webs and extending parallel with said side walls, said sections being assembled with their inner webs face to face and with their respective extended flange portions at right angles and with the ends of the extended flanges lying ilush with the outer surface of the outer web of the compleinentary section to close the ends thereof.

8. An integral closed hollow tile block formed of two similar tile sections, each section comprising inner and outer webs, side walls joining two opposite edges of said webs, flanges extending from said side walls past said inner webs, said sections being adapted to be united under pressure with their inner' webs arranged face to face, with the side walls and extended flanges of one section arranged at right angles with respect to the side walls and the extended anges of the other section, the ends of the extended llanges of one section lying flush with the outer surface of the outer web with the other section, and the ends of the webs of one section being forced into the inner surfaces of the extended flanges of the other section.

9. An integral closed hollow tile block forrned of two similar tile sections, each section comprising inner and outer webs, side walls joining two opposite edges of said webs, flanges extending from said side walls past said inner webs and a rib between said inner and outer webs extending parallel with said side walls, said sections being adapted to be united under pressure with their inner webs arranged face to face, with the side walls and extended flanges of one section arranged at right angles with respect to the side walls and the extended flanges of the other section, the ends of the extended flanges of one section lying flush with the outer surface of the outer web of the other section, and the ends of the rib of one section being forced into the inner surfaces of the extended flanges of the other section.

FRANK A. HOLBY. 

